The surrounding is quiet when Sunggyu wakes, remaining motionless as he slowly recalls what has happened. He must have been knocked out and ferried to where he is now. Apparently, his last-ditch effort did not change anything. Slowly shifting his hands and legs, it surprises him that he is not being restrained. The warm comfortable bed beneath him does not make any sense; he is really expecting some cold metal table. Even the blanket covering him smells of sunshine. The shades of the bedroom are drawn, making it difficult to determine the time or details of the room. The only light source comes from under the doorway. Sunggyu almost concludes that he is still in dreamland, in one of his wishful dreams of a normal life if not for the male who has just appeared at the opened doorway. The light from the corridor lands partially on the male face, bringing immediate recognition. Sunggyu closes his eyes and stay still as the male approaches the bed.  

Woohyun instantly sees through Sunggyu’s pretention to be asleep. The male in the bed has flinched ever so lightly when he has sat down on the bed and it does not escape his trained eyes. For umpteen times, the thought of Sunggyu no longer believes him or worse, is afraid of him saddens Woohyun. He wishes for nothing except to keep the precious smile on Sunggyu’s face but his team unannounced arrival has broken the fragile trust he has built with the male. Woohyun’s only consolation is that at least Sunggyu is safe; he cannot imagine if it is not for his team timely arrival, Sunggyu would probably be taken by those men raiding the apartment. While Sunggyu is unconscious, Myungsoo has secured some upsetting information which indicates that whatever Sunggyu is embroiled in, it is something much larger than what Woohyun has imagined. They need to talk or rather, he needs to get Sunggyu to tell him the truth in order to protect the male. He gently covers Sunggyu’s hand, feeling the male quivering a little at his action but remains unmoving.  

“Sunggyu, I know it is difficult for you to trust me but please believe I’m not going to hurt you. Just give me a chance to help you.”  

Before Woohyun can say anything more, loud beeping tones sound in the room. Startled, Sunggyu scrambles up and glances around alarmingly, body unknowingly edges towards Woohyun. A sense of relief washes over Woohyun, the slight lifting of the corners of his lips reflecting his joy but he does nothing more than giving Sunggyu’s hand a tight squeeze as a form of assurance. Sungjong appears at the door, looking slightly anxious.  

“How many?”  

“At least twenty. Heavy fire power, professionally geared.”  

“Take Sunggyu with you. I will handle them with the others.”  

Woohyun pulls Sunggyu up from the bed and guides the male towards the wardrobe, gently entrusting Sunggyu to Sungjong who has already opened up the secret passageway. Spinning around to leave, only to be halted by the grip on his clothing. He turns back to Sunggyu who is looking at him with a frightened expression. 

“I will be back in a while. You will be safe with Sungjong.”  

Slowly releasing his grip, Sunggyu let Sungjong leads him into the passageway but not before muttering a “Be careful” to the male watching him. This time, Woohyun does not hide the full grin on his face, ecstatic by the obvious concern in Sunggyu’s voice. Taking a step closer, Woohyun gently grabs Sunggyu’s arms, planting a soft kiss on the male’s cheek before leaving the stilled male and closing the passageway.  

Sunggyu stares at the closed door while touching the spot where Woohyun’s lips has brushed against, heat involuntarily creeping up his face, driving away some of the paleness. Walking deeper into the passageway with Sungjong’s guidance, he cannot help but keeps taking glimpses over his shoulder.  

“Hyung, don’t worry. Woohyun hyung will be alright. Come quickly with me, we will be able to see them from the control room.”  

They soon come upon a door which opens up with Sungjong’s retina scan. The room resembles a command center, similar to those seen in movies, filled with high-tech equipment and a gigantic panel of monitors. True to Sungjong’s words, the monitors are showing live feeds from various surveillance cameras and Sunggyu is immediately drawn to them, staring intensely at the multiple screens. Intruders can be seen on some of the screens, easily identified decked out in their black outfits, assorted weapons in their hands. Panic hits Sunggyu when he cannot find Woohyun or any of s on the screens. He heads for the door without hesitation but Sungjong holds onto him, shaking his head.  

“Those men will kill everyone if they cannot find me! Woohyun is in danger. Sungjong, let go of me. I must go out!”  

“Hyung, don’t worry. Woohyun hyung is more than capable to take on these men, and the rest of the team is out there also. I just hope that they keep the damage to a minimum, if not we will need to renovate the place again. Sunggyu hyung, sit here and put this on. You will be able to hear the team’s conversation. I need to remind them not to bring out all their new toys if we are to keep our place intact!”  

He is being stuffed into the seat in front of the monitors, Sungjong handling him a headpiece before putting one on himself. With a few quick entries, the display on one of the monitors changes to a different room, one that looks like a weapon repository. Four men can be seen arming themselves systematically with the items neatly arranged on the rows of cabinets. Sunggyu fixes his attention immediately on Woohyun while putting on the headpiece with his shaking hands. Voices filter into his ears and Sunggyu wonders whether he is hearing correctly since there is undeniable excitement in the mutterings.  

“Should I bring this or this? Probably both since I haven’t got a chance to test them out!”  

“Yes! I have also been wanting to check this out!”  

“Dongwoo hyung! Sungyeol hyung! Do not take those items! You are not allowed to use grenades in our house! Put them back unless you two want to pay for all the damages plus renovation!”  

Sunggyu watches both the guys jump from Sungjong’s shouts; he too is startled and almost makes a run for the door. The two guys addressed reluctantly put down the items in their hands but not before making disgruntled faces at the camera. They are abruptly pushed aside by Woohyun who has crossed the room and is now dominating the camera’s view, smiling widely. 

“Sunggyu, are you there? You can see me, right? You don’t have to worry. Just stay with Sungjong for a little while, I will be back very soon, okay?” 

With a little wave, Woohyun heads out of the room, followed by the other guys. Sunggyu searches the various screens and soon spots Woohyun and his team in different locations. He vaguely hears Sungjong relaying the intruders’ locations but it sounds remote. Sunggyu’s mind and eyes are only on Woohyun, nothing else. Staring intently at the screens, hoping that Woohyun will not be harmed. No matter how confident Sungjong is with their capability, Sunggyu himself has seen and experienced first-hand the viciousness of his captors. His worrying mind will not be put to rest until Woohyun appears safe and sound before him. Till then, all he can do is watch and pray. 

__________________________________________________________________________ 

It’s Sunggyu’s birthday! Happy Birthday to my Savior! Congrats to the success of the new album and concerts!!!   

I’m back after almost 3 years. If anyone still remembers this story and is actually waiting for an update, I hope this will be a present surprise. Give me a shout or vent your anger for the long wait in the comments! 

Really sorry that this story took so long. I hope seeing OT5 and soon OT6 will give me the strength to complete this story in 2022. Till then, cya!